An effective and efficient ground transportation system requires the timely flow of information between a ground transportation requester (user) and a ground transportation provider (provider). In a typical ground transportation system, a user requests ground transportation from point "A" to point "B". The request is submitted directly to a ground transportation provider who controls the scheduling and operation of one or more vehicles. The user's request is scheduled by the provider and a specific vehicle and/or driver are assigned to the particular request. The user receives confirmation of the request, including time and location information (both pick-up and drop-off) as well as vehicle and/or driver information.
The above-described system is commonly used in a limited geographical area because it is generally economically feasible to offer ground transportation in a geographical area limited to a maximum of a few hours travel time. One such application is a ground transportation service provider who provides transportation to/from an airport and the surrounding regions served by the airport. However, oftentimes a user requires ground transportation from the user's home (or business) to the airport, as well as ground transportation upon landing at a distant airport. To accommodate such requests, service providers will typically telephone an affiliated or related service provider in the destination city and relay the user's travel information and transportation requirements needed in the destination city. Although such a system provides ground transportation in both a local city and a destination city, the system has several disadvantages.
First, not every service provider will have a relationship with a counterpart service provider in every other city. Second, the system is more prone to errors since there are several stages where data is manually relayed and transcribed by the various service providers. Third, the relaying of information to a distant service provider and the subsequent scheduling by the distant service provider, who must then provide confirmation back to the local service provider, all involves a significant amount of time and expense (primarily the cost of telephone communications). Fourth, because the above-described process is cumbersome and time-consuming, the confirmation back to the user is often delayed.